Madonna of the Trail Monument

Madonna of the Trail Monument
Take an Indiana Road Trip by honoring the brave pioneer women who settled the West! 🌟 Visit the Madonna of the Trail Monument in Richmond, Indiana, a stunning 10-foot granite statue dedicated to the hardy mothers who journeyed west. 📚 Created by the Daughters of the American Revolution, this monument is one of 12 identical statues along the National Old Trails Road, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 🌊 Learn more about this incredible piece of history and plan your visit to Richmond, IN!
From the Book
East Central Indiana Day Trips

Greetings, today we visit the Madonna of the Trail Monument in Richmond, Indiana.
The Madonna of the Trail Monument series was conceived and executed by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Daughters of the American Revolution
The organization formed on October 11, 1890. Membership is limited to women that are descended from Continental Army soldiers or people that aided the Revolution in some way. There are three levels of the organization, national, state and local.
Forming a Committee
The DAR National organization appointed a committee to come up with an idea to honor the hardy pioneer mothers that journeyed west with their families to settle the west. The committee first proposed to have painted wooden markers along the route of the National Road Trail honoring the women. This idea was superseded by the concept of placing 12 statues in various states along the route. The DAR commissioned August Leimbach to sculpt the statues. Composed of Missouri granite, the statues are identical and are 10 feet high and weigh 5 tons. There is one statue in each of state, each of which is along the National Old Trails Road.
National Old Trails Road
Established in 1912, the highway also became known as the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway, as it connected the Atlantic Ocean on the East Coast with the Pacific Ocean on the west coast. In 1928 much of this road was incorporated into US 40 in the east and US 66 in the west.
The Madonna of the Trail Series
The statures were dedicated in 12 states along this route. The statues are in:
Maryland
Pennsylvania
West Virginia
Ohio
Indiana
Illinois
Missouri
Kansas
Colorado
New Mexico
Arizona
California
Madonna of the Trail in Richmond, Indiana
The statue is located at the entrance of Glen Miller Park near the intersection of 22nd Street and US 40, or Main Street. The statue was dedicated on August 28, 1928, in a ceremony presided over by and obscure judge named Harry S. Truman, who later served as President of the United States.
The statue is near the first toll gate erected in Indiana, about 1850.

Madonna of the Trail
Corner of East Main & 22nd Street
Richmond, IN 47374
http://visitrichmond.org/listing/madonna-trail

The episode is based upon my book, East Central Indiana Day Trips , available on the web site, http://www.mossyfeetbooks.com. The book is the fifth book in the 9 volume Road Trip Indiana Series. The books include all the historical markers, as of 2022, in Indiana with the text and back story. The books also include a nearly complete listing of virtually every tourism destination in the state. The destinations include parks, museums, drive in theaters, bowling alleys, wineries and much, much more. I encourage you to visit the web site and subscribe to it. If you like what I am doing, please purchase a book, as it helps fund my work.
You can find my books locally at the at the Romweber Marketplace in downtown Batesville, Indiana.
I hope you enjoyed this podcast and thank you for listening.